What I Learned in October

Right now, the score is Chickens 1, Me 0. 

It’s been a whirlwind month, and as I sat down to write this reflection for you so you can get a behind the scenes of what building a business that lets you RV looks like, I was suddenly struck by the fact that I needed to tame the excited energy a bit. 

After taking my dog for a walk and tending to my chickens, I went to go shepherd them back into their coop, safe from the hawks, bobcats, and coyotes that regularly come into our yard to try to snag an afternoon snack. 

Usually, the chickens and I have a good rapport, and they listen, waddling quickly back into their home.

Today, not so much. It seems this excited energy for freedom, adventure, and exploration isn’t just happening to me. It’s happening to them too. 

Do you feel it, too?

I want to walk my walk, so I’m letting them have some extra time finding grasshoppers and worms around our yard. To keep them safe, I’ve decided to move out to the yard to watch them, soak up our beautiful 78-degree weather, and write to you. 

It’s monthly reflection time — and boy what a month it’s been! 

Before I get into the lessons learned and what November’s going to look like, let me share a few of the BIG things I’ve been working on behind the scenes. 

1. A Free Workshop and New Course on Storytelling Marketing (and WOW is it good!)

In late September, a few friends invited me to be a guest expert in their program, The Impact Incubator, which is a program that helps entrepreneurs who want to start and scale their course or membership. I eagerly said yes! Anytime I get to talk about copywriting, it’s a win.

As I started preparing the slides and outline for my talk on Storytelling Marketing, I realized that this wasn’t “just” a guest expert session. It was a course all on its own and needed to be brought to others. 

Shortly after I started creating it, another biz buddy asked me out of the blue if I’d put on a guest expert session in her group on … wait for it … storytelling marketing. She had no idea I’d just done this for another group!

After delivering the guest expert session, the course creator reached out and said thank you, and let me know that the guest expert session was now going to become an integral part of their course curriculum. 

When God plants you square in the position to put the talents He’s given you out there, you DO IT!

Want to see what this buzz is all about and learn Storytelling Marketing for yourself? I’ll be hosting this ONE TIME ONLY next Wednesday, November 15, live on Zoom! No recordings. No hoopla. Just you, me, a Zoom room, some fun examples, and maybe some workshopping at the end, too! 

Register to attend. Even if you can’t make the live session, you’ll get a special gift just for raising your hand and telling your story with the world. 

2. Prepared for TODAY! A Huge Milestone Day — I’M AN AUTHOR!

For a year now, I’ve worked hard behind the scenes alongside three other women to write a book on finding joy, purpose, and fulfillment on your terms — and it is the perfect framework for how to live the RV lifestyle while building a business you love.

Today, Discovering Something Greater is on Amazon! And today, I get to claim the title of AUTHOR! 

(While out for my walk with my dog just before writing this, I found myself wanting to stop every person I bumped into and share the news — I just might need to create some author merch soon so if you’re an author too, we can sport this awesome title!)

Discovering Something Greater is for the mom who feels she gave everything to her kids and lost a little bit of herself along the way. 

It’s for the woman who knows something greater is out there but isn’t sure of what it looks like or how to claim it. 

It’s for the person who is happy but feels like there’s more to grab ahold of and doesn’t want to miss a second of that opportunity.

It’s for the RVer who loves exploring the backroads but isn’t sure how to do so while making money.

Discovering Something Greater just might be for you and someone on your Christmas list this year. 

We’re hosting a book club to go through this book with YOU in January, and I can’t think of anything more special than hearing your something greater. If you’d like to join us, and have some fun with a special BINGO card (there are prizes) ahead of the book club sessions, order your copy (and maybe also a copy for a friend) and join us inside our Facebook group.

3. New Cruisin’ + Campfires Designs Ordered (and Almost Released)

This month has felt really fun behind the scenes coming up with fresh new designs for the Cruisin’ + Campfires shop. I have four new stickers, including a gnome that’ll become a collectible for each state you camp in, new cards, and my favorite (if I have to choose), a Swedish dishcloth! 

If you’re holiday shopping for people who love the outdoors, consider my ‘lil budding shop. These products are SO FUN and also so functional, which makes them a big win for your recipients! Less stuff; more celebrating the outdoors with purpose.

A few products haven’t been revealed yet because I’m waiting for them to arrive, but I’ll be doing an unboxing on Instagram today and getting them on the site soon. I love this work and hope you are loving seeing the nature-inspired designs! 

Interwoven in the accomplishments, there were a lot of lessons learned along the way. 

1. Lean Into Opportunities to Share Your Message

I’m so grateful for the invitations to speak for other people’s programs. What an honor! Those invitations got me thinking — how many times are we invited to share our voice, and… don’t?

One place is daily on social media. We have such an opportunity to share our voice, share a story, share a win, and share a conviction. Yet, so often, we stumble. We don’t know what to say. We beat ourselves up and don’t know what to offer. We shy away from the spotlight because, “the algorithm won’t show it anyway.” 

We hide. 

We shrink. 

We keep ourselves in the shadows.

And we end up not posting because #perfectionism. 

Lesson Learned: You have a big story to share! A fun one! An exciting one! Storytelling marketing comes easily to me but not to others. What comes easily to you but not to others? Share it! Offer it! Make it known that you’re here, you’re doing things, and you’re ready to help others with generously open arms. That’s what growth is made of.

2. Collaboration Makes Things So Much More Fun

One of the best parts of writing Discovering Something Greater wasn’t just the writing (although that WAS fun). It was the collaboration.

Before authoring the book, Mary, Casie, and I didn’t know each other. I knew Kristin a little bit (she’s who brought me into the fold) but we didn’t send each other voice notes to say good morning like we do now. 

Collaborating on projects, no matter what that project looks like, is so much fun. As entrepreneurs, we often forget that possibility is open and available to us. We think that because we’re in business for ourselves, we have to work by ourselves until we’re ready to hire. 

That couldn’t be further from the truth. 

I recently joined The Prosper Network, created by a few of my closest friends, and we had our first speed networking session this week. It was so exciting to meet new people and connect! Who knows what type of collaborations will happen in the future, but for now, it’s more fun knowing I have another group of people there to nerd out on business with.

Lesson Learned: If you haven’t found a group to connect with, form one. Invite people to a new Voxer channel and watch it expand. Maybe even join me inside the Prosper Network. I’d love to rub elbows with you there too. 

3. Change is Good. So is Rest.

As I looked back on pictures we took on a recent trip to Colorado, I couldn’t help but think of how much everyone celebrates nature changing. Yet, if we ourselves want to change, shift, or adjust, we look at it a little bit differently. We think we’re failing, or flaky. 

Nature shows us that change is good. 

Rest is good.

Stillness is necessary.

Emerging from that cocoon of winter to evolve into something or someone new is beautiful. 

Lesson Learned: What if we gave ourselves that same permission slip to evolve? I did recently with Roadpreneur, and by moving away from industry standards of what I should be doing into a role that’s better suited for me, a writer, has felt life-giving. It’s change that has led me to right where I’m supposed to be.

Every month in the Roadpreneur School, I asked my students to reflect on what they were stopping, starting, and continuing for the month ahead. You’re invited to do the same and post it below. Here’s mine.

Start

Next month, it’s go time to release the book! We’ve poured our hearts and souls into it, and now it’s time to share it with the world. I hope you’ll buy your copy or come join me at an upcoming book signing. I have one book signing happening on December 2 at KwD Ranch Decor in Benson, Arizona where I’ll be reading from the book, chatting with you about your something greater (this is the part I’m most excited for), and signing your copy. 

More designs will come from Cruisin’ + Campfires because I’ve loved the calm of drawing and creating again.

And I’m hopeful to finally be moving into creating that merch for Roadpreneur (and hey, now authors, too I suppose, because I need some swag too). 

Stop

November won’t include new course creation. It’ll instead include stillness and offering of what I do have. So often we get into creation mode that we forget to pause and offer the world what we’ve built. Maybe you’re the same? 

Continue

I’ll continue to focus on building relationships, nurturing friendships, and leaning into collaborations. Remember, you don’t have to do this entrepreneurial role alone.

The chickens have just gone back into their coop. They’re ready to rest, and now I’m returning to grab a cup of hot afternoon coffee to keep spreading the word about this book. It’s book release day, and I’m an author! What an awesome thing to declare.

Declare your big, awesome thing in the comments so I can cheer you on, too. We’re in this together. 

~ Kimberly